"The back roads were treacherous," said Davison spokeswoman Michelle Edwards. There's no way we could get buses down them. ... They're icy."

While many morning commuters may have had dry road conditions, Edwards pointed out that some students are catching the bus as early as 6 a.m.

School officials typically begin inspecting routes at 4 a.m. and the superintendent makes a decision to cancel school around 5 a.m., well before many other commuters hit the roads.

When schools are closed, it means a full house for Fenton parent Shelly Megdanoff.

"Sleeping in, watching TV, having friends over," Megdanoff said of her four children who are in grades nine, seven, five and three at Fenton.

Megdanoff doesn't mind, however, because she is a stay-at-home mom.

"I do live out on a rural dirt road, so I'm aware why they're making the calls that they are," she said.

Davison parent Barb Gerber has a 16-year-old daughter who just started driving to school and a 13-year-old attending the middle school.

Gerber, who also lives on a rural road, said she's grateful that her oldest daughter isn't out driving in conditions like Monday morning's.

Gerber said she sympathizes with friends and family who have younger kids who can't fend for themselves on a snow day.

"I understand that every morning they're scrambling," Gerber said. "But on the other hand, I appreciate that the district's No. 1 concern is safety."

It has been an unusual year, she added.

"We shouldn't be surprised in Michigan, after last year being such a mild winter."

Fenton parent Kris Harmon has two children at State Road Elementary. Harmon said she's fortunate only one of this year's snow days have fallen on a day she has to work.

On that day, she asked her babysitter to keep the kids for the day.

"I'm lucky to have friends in the area," Harmon said. "We all try to help each other out."

Harmon wasn't expecting another snow day Monday morning.

"I was certainly surprised," she said.

"My road is pretty bad," Harmon added. "Once I get out and take a look at it, I understand."

For Davison and many other area districts, this is the fifth
weather-related cancellation of the year, meaning students will likely
have to begin making up for lost time in the summer if there are any
more snow days.

State laws calls for a minimum of 1,098 hours of
instruction in a school year. A school can call off 30 of those hours,
about five days of instruction, for events "not within control of the
school," such as snow and severe storms or utility problems, according
to the Michigan Department of Education.

Genesee County Road Commissioner John Daly said no area roads were closed Monday.

But
deciding to call off school is up to each local district, Daly added.
There are other factors that can lead to school closings as well, Daly
pointed out.

"You've got really high winds, you could have power outages," he said.